1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to an assemblage of photographic film units of the instant or self-developing type, and in particular to an assemblage wherein the individual film units are joined by interposed connection strips to form a continuous strip adapted for space-saving packaging of the assemblage and easy separation into individual images after exposure and processing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Film assemblages of the self-developing type have been provided in various forms in the prior art. The film assemblages generally comprise two separate superposed or superposable members which are in form of a first or photosensitive member and a second or image-receiving member. The first member includes a layer containing a photosensitive material on a support sheet. The second member, which may be transparent, receives the image from the layer on the first member upon contact with the exposed area of the layer in the presence of processing liquid spread between the first and second member.
The two superposed members are generally held together by a masking member provided with an opening to frame the image on the image-receiving member. A rupturable container containing processing liquid, commonly referred to in the art as "pod", is located at one end of the masking member and a trap for collecting any excess processing liquid is located at the opposite end of the masking member.
A film assemblage of the general type described above is disclosed, for example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,395 granted to F. F. Tone et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,761, granted to J. I. Sturgis et al. In these U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,395 and 4,824,761, the masking members extend lengthwise substantially over the end portions of the image-receiving and photosensitive members in order to form sealed compartments for the rupturable container and the trap when folded back upon itself. The image-receiving member is longer than the photosensitive member, thereby wasting expensive photographic material.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,405, granted to D. M. Harvey, there is disclosed an integral film unit wherein the image-receiving and photosensitive members are essentially coextensive, wherein the trap is formed by a rigid, elongated shell-like cover slipped on the ends of the members, and wherein the rupturable container is connected to the leading end of the integral film unit by an elongated funnel inserted between the members near the leading edge for improving the distribution of the processing fluid and the uniformity of processing. The funnel is sufficiently elongated as to permit the rupturable container to be moved from a superposed relationship to a substantially coplanar, end-to-end relationship, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the patent. The rupturable container is attached to a carrier of substantially the same lateral dimensions as the photosensitive portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,139 describes an assemblage of self-processing film units interconnected by a foldable web provided with a series of longitudinally extending flaps cut from the web. The web serves primarily to support the individual film units which still have to be assembled separately.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,886, granted to Y. Oshikoshi et. al., there is disclosed a self-developing photographic method and apparatus, wherein a photosensitive member supplied from a first roll is superposed after exposure with an image-receiving member, together with a rupturable container, provided from a second roll, wherein both members are cut from the roll inside the apparatus after exposure and wherein the photosensitive member has lateral dimensions substantially larger than the image area.
Each film unit with its associated rupturable container and trap portion has to be individually assembled in place from its individual components, i.e. generally separate rolls of image-receiving, photosensitive and masking material, all of which are not necessarily of identical size and have to be matched for optimum imaging performance due to sensitometric variations during manufacture. Further, the lateral dimensions of the film unit are generally noticeably larger than the imaging area as a result of the space taken up by the rupturable container and the trap. Pack film where film units are stored in a package in a superposed arrangement, i.e. forming a stack, have the additional disadvantage that the film unit to be exposed in a cooperating camera is the topmost film unit, requiring spring-biasing of the entire stack of unexposed film units towards the camera lens for achieving the desired film flatness in the image plane.